Jerod Mayo on M&M: ‘We have to figure it out faster’ to avoid slow starts

Patriots linebackerJerod Mayo was on the Mut & Merloni show Friday to talk about the upcoming AFC playoffs. While the Patriots have a bye week, Mayo and the defense have been preparing for their second-round game.

Mayo talked about the Patriots’ biggest problem of late, their slow starts, saying it was a mental issue the team needed to solve.

‘I don’t really know the reason for the slow starts, but we have to figure it out,’ Mayo said. ‘If you dig yourself a big hole in the playoffs it might be a little difficult to come back. But we showed the mental toughness to get it done and we’re happy to be where we’re at.’

Added Mayo: ‘It’s probably more mental. Just not going out and executing the game plan or not knowing what the offense is going to throw at you. Most of the time when we watch a lot of film on an opponent they do stuff completely different in a game, so, not making any excuse, but we have to figure it out faster.’

Asked aboutTom Brady having to carry an extra load with the defense struggling, Mayo said that overall he’s pleased with the results.

‘Tom’s a great player, and at the end of the day as long as we win that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s all about who has the most points, so our job is to go out there and try to stop the offense. If the score is 30-0 or 100-99, to us it doesn’t matter as long as we win.’

Mayo wouldn’t say much about what the Patriots were doing during the bye week, but he did say it was a week for improvement rather than scheming for a potential opponent.

‘We’ve been doing a lot of things to get the Patriots better,” he said. “That’s been the main focus of the week.”